Taking Chances
by Blood Angel Evengelion
Summary: Chance is a young penguin with a horrible past. Will him being sent to the Central Park Zoo pick up the pieces of his life? Or make it even worse?  Friendship Fic w/ OC.
1. Nightmare

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Penguins of Madagascar. They belong to Tom Mcgarth. But additional characters like OC's belong to me. ^^

**Please READ & REVIEW**

**Taking Chances**

Chance is a young penguin with a horrible past. Will him being sent to the Central Park Zoo fix up the pieces of his life? Or make it even worse?

* * *

Chapter 1 – Nightmare

_Eeek!_

_The scream of a young girl plummeting from the third story window could still be heard in his ears. But it was what he heard next that made him want to lose his mind, as down below where his sister had fallen came the high screeching of a car…followed by the horrible, nauseating crunches of bones being broken._

_"Karen!" A father's despairing cry echoed soon afterwards followed by a mother's scream of agony._

_"Mom…! Dad…!" His own voice could be heard calling out to them, reaching out with his small arms. But they never did understand him, for they ran right past him._

_And it was all too much for him to listen to now. Even if it was his reoccurring nightmare._

_But over and over again, in the darkness of his dreams, the young penguin faced the horrors of the accident with tears flowing down his face, screaming with his own lungs._

_"I…I never meant for it to happen!" Shaking, he went to stand by his parents, pleading for them to understand him. "Please…please, listen…"_

_Sobbing, he stared from his father, to his mother…and at last to Karen's still figure lying unresponsive in her parents' arms. And even though he knew she was dead…her dark eyes locked with his. Her brother's._

_"Why…Chance…?"_

_Her voice was a deadly whisper; sending chills down his spine as she asked again…_

_Why…?_

_

* * *

_

**_"Aaah!"_**

It was a real scream this time as Chance awoke, eyes wide and breathing harsh. And running from his eyes were several trails left behind by the tears he had shed because of his dream. But now that he was awake, reality came back and the young penguin dully remembered being shipped off to the Clause Zoo Hall. It was a center meant for the worst kinds of animals…

But…he had been sent there after Karen's funeral. And it was hell.

"_Finally_ you're awake…" from his left side came the deep grumbling voice, and Chance focused his attention to a ragged old tiger sitting in the cage next to his. Compared to the large cat, the young penguin was awfully small. "You were starting to annoy me with you crying in your sleep. "What dream was it this time, hm? Were you getting eaten by a tiger?"

Chance sniffed, wiping his face with one flipper before giving the tiger a look. "_You'd_ have fun with that kind of dream..."

"Sure I would," The tiger replied, flashing a toothy grin. "Especially if that tiger's name is Kavo, who has a penguin for a jail neighbor that cries himself to sleep every night..._because he misses his mommy and daddy_..."

Kavo stressed the last part, making himself sound wimpy and like a whiny crybaby. And he furthered to express how annoying chance was by curling up into a ball and sucking his thumb, whimpering until the deep grumble in his voice returned, and he sat up in a delicate posture. "I'd eat you any day, little penguin." He growled, noticing the new, angry look Chance had on his face. And then his eyes went to trace the thick fencing that separated his and Chance's cages. "And who knows? This fence won't keep us apart for too long…"

A chill went down Chance's spine, but he refused to show it under Kavo's locked gaze. Suddenly, a new sounded behind the tiny bird.

"Leave the kid alone, Kavo." This time the voice was high and lively and full of spunk. Chance turned to look at the large orangutan relaxing in her own large cage. She was munching on what looked like her breakfast. "He's only been here for a week and you're already harassing him."

"I can't help it! He's so-"

"Well, I think it's cute!" the large monkey crossed her arms and glared sternly. "And the poor thing is probably crying at night because of what he's been through. Am I right, little guy?"

Chance felt the eyes of the two larger animals on him and he chose the moment to lower his head. "A…a little bit."

"You see?" the orangutan raised an eyebrow to the tiger, making Kavo growl again. "Stop making the poor guy feel any worse with your threats, _Kah-voh_!"

"Um, my name is Chance by the way-"

"My name isn't Kah-voh! It's **Kavo**!"

"It's the same thing! _**Kah! Voh**_!"

"No it isn't!"

Chance looked between Kavo and the large orangutan, whose name was actually Yatzee. Ever since he had been dropped off here in a wooden crate, both Yatzee and Kavo had argued about how they should treat him for the duration of his stay.

Besides, Clause Zoo was also a rehabilitation center for wild or extremely dangerous animals. And it was rare to see anyone get transferred off to a zoo for their good behaviors. It could probably take years to be able to leave this place, so it was no wonder why Kavo thinks of the place as a jail house. Yet then again, it was just him, Kavo and Yatzee in the main zoo house now. However, Chance was nowhere between wild or dangerous. He was raised in a loving home with human parents and a human baby sister…

_Oh…_

Tears stung his eyes as the dreams played again in his mind, but Chance quickly shook them away just as one of the Zoo's attendants came to check on them. Kavo and Yatzee had quieted down now as all three watched the attendant checked Kavo's cage, Yatzee's cage and finally Chance's. "Not hungry again, little fella?" the young woman looked at the bowl left in the small penguin's cage where two succulent fish sat rotting and untouched. A wave of pity came over the woman, noting that it had already been three days since the bird had last eaten. And sometimes at night, she'd even hear the poor thing cry in its sleep much to the tiger's dismay.

Jane, was the woman's name as she cautiously opened the cage leading into the penguin's cell. She had heard about how this penguin had caused a horrible accident back in California and was warned to take some precautions about caring for it.

"But you're such a cute litte birdy," she said aloud, smiling at Chance; who, in fright backed away.

"What is she doing?" Chance asked Kavo, then looked at Yatzee.

"Oh, don't panic, suger!" Yatzee replied, attempting to sound soothing. "She probably noticed like we did that you haven't been eating your food. So maybe she wants to feed you."

"Or _eat_ you." Kavo interjected, purring.

"Shut up, _Kah-voh_!"

Chance soon felt a hand gently pluck him off the floor and unto Jane's lap. And even though he was starting to panic inside, she smiled kindly to him and slowly reached over to grab one of the tiny fishes. "Come on, little guy." She cooed, waving the snack in front of Chance. One whiff of it made his stomach growl, but he didn't feel like eating at all and immediately turned his head away. Being fed by a human reminded him of how Karen used to care for him…

But Jane was watching him closely now, taking in the dull, sullen face of the tiny bird before setting him down again. "Well, you're going to have to eat sometime…" she told Chance, saddened as she looked at his sorry state. "No animal will starve to death because of me…"

And then it hit her, and Jane suddenly smiled. She knelt in front of the cage, staring at Chance with sparkles in her eyes. Because now…she had an idea to help the little guy…

* * *

_What does Jane have in mind? How will it help Chance?_

Lol. Well, if you like this first chapter, please comment on it and I'll see if I can write up another chapter soon. ;3


	2. Asking Alice

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Penguins of Madagascar. They belong to Tom Mcgarth. But additional characters like OC's belong to me. ^^

**Please READ & REVIEW**

**Taking Chances**

Chance is a young penguin with a horrible past. Will him being sent to the Central Park Zoo fix up the pieces of his life? Or make it even worse?

* * *

Chapter 2 - Asking Alice

"_Pleeease, Alice?_"

"No."

Jane stared at her best friend, eyes pleading and hands clasped together in silent prayer. She had hoped Alice would understand since she was also a zookeeper. And even though she would always say that she hated her job, Jane knew that Alice loved animals more than anyone. She had loved animals way back when they were children. And yet, here she was now, sitting at her desk with her arms crossed and face stern. It was great to have Jane visit during her work hours, but Alice had not expected her friend to ask her such a strange favor: to take in a small penguin with eating problems.

"Why not?" Jane sighed, letting her arms drop. "He's not dangerous, Alice. He's...cute, and cuddly...and, and..."

"That's what I used to think about penguins too...but that was before I got transferred _here_."

"Oh, Alice, not all penguins are mysteriously tricky." she chuckled when she remembered all the strange stories Alice would tell her about the penguins that lived here in the Central Park Zoo. But when she saw the frown on her friend's face, Jane hurriedly quieted herself, putting a hand on Alice's shoulder. "Besides, the penguin I have with me is different. He doesn't eat. And he cries at night..."

Thinking about it now, Alice's face softened. "That..._does_ sound sad..."

"If you think that's sad, you should see the state he's in now..."

Having said that, Jane then proceeded to tell her friend how she had acquired the young bird and what had happened to his previous owners. Of course, Jane did not forget to add in the fact about the little penguin refusing to eat and how it was slowly starving itself to death. "Oh my gosh..." Feeling empathy now for the bird's story, Alice tapped her fingertips together nervously. No animal should live like that. "Well...maybe we can accept just one more penguin into the zoo's roster..."

_"Really?" _Jane's hands were clasped together again, her eyes sparkling. Alice almost smiled at her best friend's bubbly attitude. It was practicly opposite of her constantly sour mood. But that was probably just her stress getting to her.

"...At least until he starts eating again. Maybe putting him with the penguins here is just the thing he needs to get over himself, -_agh_!"

Alice yelled in surprise as Jane hugged her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Alice~!"

She could feel a warm smile on her face, and Alice lightly returned the friendship hug. "Just wait for me to finish processing these tranfer documents you've brought and he can be brought in by tomorrow morning. Is that okay?"

"It's better than the normal transfers." Jane replied, stepping back but still keeping a grin on her own facial feature. "He'd probably die before the papers are done."

"No kidding." Alice sighed as she held her hand out for the papers Jane had brought with her. She recieved it in a manila folder, which she then placed on her desk. "I'll have this done sometime after we close the zoo today, Jane. So just bring the little guy here tomorrow morning so we can get started on rehabilitating him."

"I'll do just that, my bestest friend in the whole wide world!" Jane's smile couldn't get any bigger. But Alice already knew how big Jane's heart was. And it could never stop growing for her love for animals.

"...Say, why don't we go and visit the penguin habitat right now?" It wasn't a suggestion Alice would normally make to most people, but if it was to help Jane and her depressed penguin, then she didn't mind making it at all. Meanwhile, Jane nodded eagerly.

"I have a lot of time before I need to head back to the Clause Zoo." she replied, leading the way out of the office. "And I'd love to meet the little penguins too, if that isn't too much to ask, Alice?"

Alice rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the smile on her face. "Sure. You can go ahead and do that."

Jane almost skipped with joy.

* * *

"Just smile and wave, boys."

Skipper looked out at the crowd of humans, his right flipper waving to them. Down the line starting from where he stood was his three comrades, Rico, Kowalski and finally Private. And as their leader, he continued the "smile and wave" routine until the bell rang for 5 o'clock pm. Closing time.

"And that takes care of that." the youngest penguin, Private stated. He talked in a gentle British accent, sitting back and heaving a tired, but satisfied sigh. Next to him sat a pile of fresh fish, courtesy of the humans. "Mission accomplished, Skippah'!"

"And a job well done, too." Skipper agreed, picking a fish from the pile and examining it. "Hm, this sea bass won't be half bad...if it was chopped up and turned into sushi. Rico!"

At the sound of his name, the second tallest of the four penguins made a sound before quickly regurgitating a chopping board and a really sharp knife. "Sushi?" he grunted questioningly, grinning.

"You got it, soldier."

"Heh heh! Ah right!" Rico replied, taking a fish and slicing it cleanly in half. And he was about to begin his super sushi making technique if it weren't for Kowalski catching his flipper in time.

"Put that away, Rico! Alice is heading this way!"

At that warning, all four penguins turned to see the zoo's head caretaker walking straight for their habitat. But she wasn't alone this time. Walking with her was a woman probably younger by about two years.

"Funny...I didn't know Alice had a sister." Private yelped as Skipper planted a flipper to the back of his head. "_Ow!"_

"Rico. Get rid of the evidence!" their leader ordered. Grunting, the craziest of the four quickly tossed his knife into the pool surrounding their small island. At the same time, Kowalski picked up the sliced pieces of the fish, hastily stuffing them into Private's mouth. Much to the other penguin's protest.

So by the time Alice and her "sister" had gotten close enough to see them, Skipper and his friends were already standing innocently around the pile of fish. "Wow, you really take care of them, Alice." they heard the younger woman say, admiring the penguins. Then she noticed Private and pointed his way. "Ooh, that plump looking one is especially cute."

Private swallowed the fish in his mouth, giggled and cheekishly waved at her.

"I do what I can." Alice replied, almost frowning down at the four tiny birds. Luckily her friend's back was to her.

"Step up the cuteness, young Private." Skipper muttered under his beak. "We can't afford Alice and her sister to get too suspicious of us."

"I got it, sir."

"Good man. Kowalski, Rico, let's make ourselves look as convincingly cute as possible."

"Ah-huh!"

"Roger that, Skipper."

* * *

Thus, the penguins put on a performance for the two ladies. But only Alice's little sister looked pleased. "This habitat is _perfect_!" She turned to Alice, who put on a smile just as Skipper and his friends went back to smiling and waving. "With cute, lovable penguins like these ones, my little guy will be all better in no time! And look, there's plenty of fish to spare!"

Jane's eyes were sparkling more now after what she had just seen from these Central Park penguins. "Alice, thank you soooo much for agreeing to help me. He'll love it here!" She jumped excitedly as Alice scratched the back of her neck. "Yeah, well. Just hurry up and bring him in tomorrow and we'll see how everything plays out for a few days."

"I sure will, Alice. I sure will!" Just then, a beeper went off and Jane moved to check her watch. "Hm, I guess it's time for me to head off now. It was great to come by, Alice."

The younger zookeeper smiled brightly, leaving Alice close to speechless. Jane then returned her attention to the penguins, who were watching her quite closely. "Now, you guys sit tight. I'll be back tomorrow with a special _**surprise**_ for you!"

At that, the little birds shared a look of curiosity.

"Anyways, can you see me out, Alice? We can definitely go for lunch sometime this weekend. I know this super awesome resturaunt that has the best hamburger steaks!"

"That sounds good." Alice grinned and turned quickly to lead Jane to the zoo's entrance. "How does next Monday sound?"

"Sounds good!"

"Kowalski...any ideas on what they were talking about?" Skipper asked, watching Alice and Jane exit the zoo.

"I believe Alice's sister is planning to bring us something of great value in gratitude of our performance." the tallest penguin replied, smiling. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, Skipper. She looks like she has a nice personality. At least better than Alice's."

Private poked at the fish pile still left in the small corner of their island. "Maybe she'll bring us more fish. That's probably what she thinks we want."

**"Fish!"** Rico echoed before suddenly diving into the pool. He returned seconds later with the knife he tossed earlier between his beak.

"You're probably right, boys." Half-convinced, Skipper smiled at his men. "It could mean nothing...unless that's what she wants us to think."

At that suggestion, all three penguins looked at their leader, confused. Skipper however wasn't fazed by their looks. "Come on, men. Pack those fish into the fridge and let's move out." He ordered, straightening his back. "We're going to follow Alice's little sister to wherever she's going, that way we'll find out what her real game is..."

* * *

_Skipper and the gang plan to find out Jane's surprise. Will they figure out what she'll bring or wait until the next day?_

This was a pretty long chapter but it was fun writing because now that Skipper and the gang have found their way into the story.

Subscribe or Review if you wanna see the next chapter soon! ;3


	3. Is it a Tiger?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Penguins of Madagascar. They belong to Tom Mcgarth. But additional characters like OC's belong to me. ^^

**Please READ & REVIEW**

**Taking Chances**

Chance is a young penguin with a horrible past. Will him being sent to the Central Park Zoo fix up the pieces of his life? Or make it even worse?

* * *

Chapter 3 - Is it a Tiger?

It was ten minutes before seven o'clock now when Jane finally drove into the Clause Zoo's gates. She had hurried the best she could through New York's rush hour and was almost eager now to check in at the front desk. A female night guard named Hana was already waiting for her.

"That penguin you have caged up is making those strange sounds again. You should probably go look into it." she informed Jane, who nodded before replying.

"I was able to find a better home for him today. Hopefully he'll feel a little better once I tell him the news."

"Good luck with that," the officer replied, smiling. She stood up and walked around the counter. "Meanwhile, I'm going to go and finish up the rest of my rounds. See you in a bit."

Jane waved her goodbye as she hurried into the zoo's main house. Her heart sank when the sound of Chance's whimpering reached her ears. This time it sounded weak and almost sickly. "Oh no, little guy..." She muttered, hurrying to the cage and opening it. Inside, Chance was lying on his stormach, unmoving. A low growl rumbled out from the tiger's cage, and Jane looked up to see both the orangutan and the tiger watching her closely. They were probably worried that she'd hurt him. And taking precautions, Jane slowed her movements and spoke in a gentle tone, "It's okay, guys. I won't hurt the little guy. I like him too."

Kavo and Yatzee gave each other a look before relaxing themselves, allowing the human to move close enough to Chance until she was finally able to pick him up. His body was incredible light now, and his breathing was shallow. Not to mention how sick-looking he had become. "Little penguin?" Jane cooed, attempting to stir the poor bird. But Chance didn't answer, his eyes remained closed as if dozing. But every now and then, he'd let out a weak, sorrowful sound.

He even left his food bowl untouched again. And seeing that, Jane almost panicked. "Oh no. _No, no_...please don't die, little penguin..."

Her eyes filled with tears as she brushed the bird's breast feathers, feeling the almost fragile breaths. And suddenly she stood up and ran out of the cage with Chance in hand. He needed help. And she was going to give it to him. As she fled the room, Kavo let out a snarl, hitting the cage with his shoulder. He may have been old, but he was still pretty strong.

"Where do you think she's taking him, Yatzee?" He bristled his oranged and black striped fur, looking from his orangutan companion to the door Jane had just run out through.

"I dunno, Kavo." Yatzee was unusually calm about the situation. She examined her fingernails, giving the tiger a "will you calm down?" look. "Maybe she wants to _eat_ him."

"Don't joke!" the tiger snapped, looking away. "That poor little bird was sick the whole time. I should have noticed the signs. Maybe...maybe I was too harsh on him...too mean..."

"No d'uh?"

"Shut up."

"Oh, just calm down, you old bag of fur." Yatzee almost laughed at how much Kavo actually cared for their new jail buddy. "I'm pretty sure she's just going to treat him, that's all-"

Just then, a sound came from the ceiling above and both Kavo and Yatzee looked up to see four black and white blurs coming to land in front of their cages. Yatzee jumped.

"What the_-?_"

"Easy ma'am, we're only here to investigate." Skipper interrupted the surprised exclamations of the two larger mammals. "Kowalski!"

At his name, the tallest of the four quickly approached the cages with a piece of paper carried under his arms. But he soon revealed it to both Kavo and Yatzee despite the crudeness of the scribbled contents. "We're looking for this human. She's the younger sister of our zoo's Alice." he explained in a matter-of-fact tone. "Have you seen her?"

"...Is that your best reference of her?" Yatzee asked after a minute's pause. "I don't recognize her."

"Well, you _should_ recognize her," Skipper butted in, his brow heavy. He looked at Rico, who quickly regurgitated what looked like a complicated device. And on it's screen, two dots were close to being on the same spot, blinking on and off on the screen in 2 second gaps. "Our tracer says she stopped here but with the place unknown to us, we've lost track of her."

"What does she look like?" Kavo relaxed himself on the ground, staring through the fencing with his dark green eyes. His eyes found Private and he dully grinned. The youngest of the four penguins gulped and grinned nervously back while Kowalski held up the piece of paper again. The picture looked like a human but looked like a small deformed chibi with monstrously large eyes. The eyes even had stars in them and on the chibi's head was a zookeeper's hat.

Kowalski tapped the picture twice with his flipper, indicating it as their only reference and showing it to Kavo once again. The old tiger took one look at it and groaned.

"Any other details other than that horrible scribble?." he asked, purring. "Looking at it is giving me a headache." Following the temporary silence, Kowalski glanced at the drawing and looked hurt.

"Well...she, she had brown hair and..." Kowalski tried his best to remember what Alice's sister looked like, but all he could remember was her hair.

"Oh! _Oh_!" Private suddenly began jumping up and down, the woman's face coming back into his memory. "She had sparkly blue eyes. Like our's." And he blinked cutely to prove it.

"Bablehghaha pergablebeh!" Rico added in, remembering the woman's upbeat, and bubbly personality.

"Yeah, and that too." Private agreed, high-fiving with Rico.

"She _did_ seem like a nice lady." Skipper smiled, his flippers behind his back. "She even promised to bring us a big surprise tomorrow. And that's why we're here. _**I don't like surprises**_."

Kowalski looked from his three comrades and nodded, going back to Kavo and Yatzee. "So, have you seen her? The human?" he asked again. The orangutan female was the first to provide some information. "Mmm...nope. Unless you're talking about this zoo's caretaker, **Jane**. She's got some of those traits you're talking about."

"Funny...I didn't know Jane had a sister..." Kavo stated, tilting his head to one side. Then he suddenly yawned, his sharp yellow teeth revealed in the process. "And I've been here for quite a long time..." Yatzee shrugged as well, having been in the zoo for nearly two years. She had heard Jane meantion about a friend named Alice whenever she had come to visit her and Kavo. Perhaps they _were_ sisters.

"I'm pretty sure we'd have to find out about our caretaker's life somehow, Kavo." she said, scratching her chin. "I've heard her talk to an Alice plenty of times. But always when you're napping."

"Really?" Kavo yawned again. Clearly sleep was starting to come over him. A toll of old age. "I had no idea."

"So...where is the human? Have you seen her come by?" Kowalski asked once more, looking to the orangutan. Looking at Kavo's sharp teeth made him want to shiver.

"Sure. You boys just missed her." Yatzee provided, pointing to Chance's cage. "She took our friend some ten minutes ago now. He hasn't been eating well lately so she's probably trying to feed him..."

Skipper moved forward to investigate the empty cage. It was practically empty save for the food bowl full of half-day old fish. Rico approached the bowl, sniffing the food before taking the whole thing into his arms and emptying it. _**"Rico!" **_Private scolded, holding his flippers at his waist. "Those were for the poor animal living in this cage."

"Oh..." Feeling guilty now, the crazy penguin placed the bowl back down.

"What if he's sick?"

Rico thought about it for a second, then shrugged and burped in Kowalski's face. One whiff, and the scientist temporarily faint.

"Alright then. Men, it looks like we've missed our chance to see what our big surprise is." Skipper said at last, seeing that they were waisting time with questions. Besides, seeing Rico gobble up the entire contents of the food bowl made him hungry. And there was still the fish they had stuffed into the fridge back at their base. "Let's clear out and head home so we can prepare for any worst case scenarios in the morning."

"Roger, Skipper."

"Ah-huh. _Brruppp_!"

Once again regurgitating, Rico provided a grappling gun which Skipper didn't hesitate to use on the cieling's air vent. He looked at Yatzee, then to the sleeping Kavo. "Just for the record, you two," he said, suddenly waving his flippers before him in a hypnotic fashion. "You didn't see anything..."

Yatzee rolled her eyes, but smiled. "No problem, penguin. Thanks for the sudden drop in. I wish I had more fruits to share..."

"Oh, it's no problem." Private accepted the apology, waving. But then a thought hit him. "Would _you_ know what Jane would have as a surprise for us?"

"Mm, not a clue, little fella." the large orangutan replied, sounding truthful. "Maybe it'll be something nice."

"Or something that'll _eat_ you." Kavo added in, looking asleep but with his ears up in such a way proved that he was still listening.

"I-Is it going to be a tiger?" Private gasped, suddenly horrified. "Or...a...a _badger_?"

Yatzee laughed. "No way, little bird. Don't listen to Kavo. He's old, and he always says something stupid when he's about to go to sleep."

Skipper and his friends each shared a look before suddenly shooting upwards to the ceiling. They flipped gracefully back into the air vent they had used to sneak into the building.

"Bye-bye, little penguins!" Yatzee yelled up after them. They waved down at her in reply before disappearing.

"They seemed like nice kids." Kavo mumbled sleepily as Yatzee laid herself down for bed.

"I guess so..." she replied, heaving a loud sigh. "...But I wonder what kind of surprise they're expecting to get from Jane...?"

"Who knows, Yatzee?" the old tiger replied. He lifted his head and looked at Chance's empty cage. "I'm just too worried about the kid right now to care what those penguins were doing here..."

Yatzee gave another sigh. "You're right..."

* * *

_Where is Chance? Is Jane really planning to bring Kavo over to the Central Park Zoo or will it be someone else?_

Find out next chapter...and again, please review when you can. ;3


	4. Where is Home

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Penguins of Madagascar. They belong to Tom Mcgarth. But additional characters like OC's belong to me. ^^

**Please READ & REVIEW**

**Taking Chances**

Chance is a young penguin with a horrible past. Will him being sent to the Central Park Zoo fix up the pieces of his life? Or make it even worse?

Chapter 4 - Where is Home...

_"Are you hungry, Chance?"_

_Karen's voice came back to him, pulling him into the all to realistic dream. He could feel her soft hands picking him up off the ground, while he little face stared lovingly back at him. He remembered her exactly and would never forget the face of his human sister. Her dark green eyes glittered with enthusiasm and joy, and her smile was beautiful. And here in his dreams, she was carrying him into their playroom filled with toys and stuffed animals. _

_"Let's have tea," Karen said next smiling, as she settled Chance into a chair. _

_"I love you, Karen." Chance spoke up without realizing. He knew that outside of this dream world, the real Karen was dead. "You know I love you, right?" A bonnet was fixed on his head next and as if she understood him, the little girl slowly picked him up, craddling him in her arms. "I love you too, Chance..."_

_There was a bottle of warm milk being held up to his beak now and feeling relieved that his sister was still here for him, he closed his eyes and accepted the drink. Even if it was for actual babies. Karen laughed and soothed her brother by singing. It was full of random notes, but it made Chance feel relaxed. He had never felt this happy in what felt like a long time. The dream lingered for a while longer until it began fading away into the darkness. He could still hear Karen's singing, still taste the warm milk while she held him in her warm arms and craddling him back and forth. She was the only thing keeping him from panicking now. And then the dream was over and Chance could feel himself waking up..._

Chance woke up to an overly bright room, feeling pleasantly warm. And he quickly understood why when he noticed Jane holding him in her arms. She was craddling him back and forth, the same way Karen was doing with him in his dreams. Held up to his face was an actual bottle of warm milk. She must have been feeding him while he was unconscious, Chance guessed, seeing the look of worry on Jane's face. It looked like she had been crying.

"Why...are you crying?" he was spoke to her groggily, blinking. He was too weak to speak, but seeing her with tears falling down her face made him feel like he had just given her a big scare. "Don't cry..."

His words came out in weak noises though and Jane put down the bottle to check his temperature. He must have been running a fever of some kind. Probably because his lack of eating invited sickness to kill off his health. But lucky for him, Jane knew what she was doing. Gently, she craddled him and brushed his feathers. "Hey, little guy..." she cooed, attempting to smile now. "You had me worried for a while..."

Chance tried to return the smile, but he felt too exhausted to lift any of his muscles.

"I brought you to the doctor earlier, I hope you don't mind..." Jane continued, gazing at him with gentle blue eyes. "He recommended I feed you some milk for now."

"That's okay." the little penguin replied, knowing full well that Jane probably wouldn't understand him anyway. "Karen always used milk for our tea parties anyways..."

"And...well, I brought you home too." Jane settled him down into what felt like an ultra fluffy pillow. It felt nice and soft...

_Wait...what?_

Chance's eyes widened as he took a look around for the first time since he woke up. There were no fence cages or large dark rooms with artificial lighting. And no Kavo to threaten him or Yatzee to talk with him. All the little penguin could see now was a large apartment with green and white striped walls and other pieces of matching furniture lying all around. It looked like a nice apartment. Spacious and wide. "How do you like it?" Jane grinned at the silly look the penguin had on his face. He seemed quite attracted to the green of the walls. "I'm not much of a home decorator, but so long as I can live in it, it's okay."

"It's better than okay," Chance replied, but all Jane would hear is penguin chirps. "It makes me feel at home."

Silence fell between the two with Jane waiting for her new friend to judge her house while Chance had nothing to say at all. They couldn't actually communicate anyways. But now Chance was feeling a little more energetic now. And slightly more hungry.

"Um..." As he was about to ask, Chance heard his stomach give out a monstrous growl. It was so loud, Jane practically burst out laughing.

"Are you hungry _now_, little guy?" she asked, picking up the bottle and shaking it in front of the small penguin. Chance shook his head at it, then tilting it to the side questioningly. It almost looked like he was asking for some _fish_. Jane understood it immediately and gave Chance a suspecting grin. "Hm, you want fish?" she asked, and after a moment's hesitation, the little bird slowly nodded. Perhaps they were able to communicate after all...

"Sorry, buddy, but it's late." she stated, acting like a mother. She pointed at the wall clock opposite of them, indicating that it was close to half past midnite. "Besides, you're going to have to finish this milk first, it'll help you sleep and regain more strength."

There was a look of sad disappointement on Chance's face now, and cracking under the cuteness of his big blue eyes, she sighed and added, "And hopefully by tomorrow morning I'll have some fresh fish ready for you when you wake up."

At that, the little penguin smiled. _"Maybe not all humans are bad, I guess."_ he thought. The memory of his human parents faded slowly out of his mind as Jane picked him up again. She craddled him in her arms, holding the bottle of milk to him again.

This time, Chance gladly accepted the small meal. And by the time it was empty, he was starting to doze off.

"By the way, little guy," Jane's voice sounded distant now. "I found you a new home. I'll take you there tomorrow after breakfast."

"Where...is home?" Chance asked slowly, but was too sleepy now to process Jane's words.

"You're going to love it there."

That was the last sentence Chance heard as he slipped out of reality and back into his dreams. But this time he wouldn't dream about nightmares. Only better days.

Jane continued to craddle the little bird until he was practicly snoring. It was odd to hear a bird snore in such a way, but it was also cute. What she was the most glad about now, was that the little penguin was starting to come around. The bottle of milk was already gone, and she was a little excited now to see how much the little guy would eat tomorrow morning to regain some of the lost weights and fats in his body.

Gently she stroked his breast feathers, smiling at how peaceful he looked now.

...And perhaps this was probably what he needed, because she remembered reading in Chance's records that he had been adopted by a family for a couple of years. So maybe being kept in a cage like back in Clause Zoo made him feel out of place and homesick. Resulting in him most of his appitite the whole two weeks he had been with her.

"I hope things'll turn out a little better now that I'm here for you, little guy." Jane muttered to the sleeping penguin, laying him back into the soft pillow that was actually part of the couch. As soon as she had put him down, Chance stirred slightly, but resumed sleeping. "But don't you expect me to baby you." She felt a little silly acting mother to a penguin.

"Hopefully your new home will help you more than I can..." she stood up and walked towards her own room. "It'll probably help you become happy again."

After a few minutes of standing at her door, staring at the couch where Chance lay sleeping, she almost felt compelled to grab her blanket and sleep next to the little bird. But she didn't do that as she finally shut off the lights and went to bed.

_Where's Chance's new home? Will he truly like it there, as Jane promised?_

Until next chapter...

Please review if you liked this chapter. ;3


	5. Hello New Friends

Disclaimer:

I don't own Penguins of Madagascar. They belong to Tom Mcgarth. But additional characters like OC's belong to me. ^^

**Please READ & REVIEW**

**Taking Chances**

Chance is a young penguin with a horrible past. Will him being sent to the Central Park Zoo fix up the pieces of his life? Or make it even worse?

* * *

Chapter 5 – Hello New Friends

The next morning came slowly, and it all started with the faint lights of dawn fading in through the thin white curtains. Then came the small gentle breezes, blowing in and going over towards the couch, stirring a certain young penguin out of his sleep…

Chance opened his eyes, blinking away the sleep before looking around. For a minute, he had forgotten where he was until the events of last night replayed in his mind. "Oh, right…" Chance sat up, talking out loud and breaking the morning silence. "I was sick…and Jane," he took another look around the large apartment. The green walls striped with white seemed oddly attractive to him. "…took me home."

Seeing the bottle from last night sitting on the coffee table, Chance sat up, wondering now on where Jane might have gone. "Jane?" he called out, staggering to his feet. He still felt weak from last night's fever, but thanks to the milk he was fed, Chance felt a little stronger. Strong enough to explore the place, at least, as he jumped down from the couch and waddled this way and that.

"Hm…maybe she's already left…" the little penguin muttered before jumping a little. Something sounding like an electric alarm clock had suddenly gone off, being the source of Chance's scare. And it was coming from another room on the right, blaring street traffic news and the going-on's of good old New York. Fortunately, that got Chance's attention and he quickly waddled over, taking a peek into the room.

The color was naturally like the one outside with green and white stripes, but it was full of different things such as a drawer overstuffed with clothes and a nightstand with its lampshade tilted alarmingly astray. There was a also small desk stuffed in between the drawers and what looked like a bed, and despite it being covered in books and paper, the source of the noise managed to stay on top of everything. Literally stacked high on top of the numerous paperwork, was the radio, its electronic contents reading 6:45 a.m. on the screen. Chance stared at the clock for a second, surprised on how early it was until a hand suddenly emerged from under the covers of the bed, swiping at the desk.

"Let me sleep…" came Jane's tired voice. It was muffled by the blankets. "Be quiet…_evil radio_."

Chance smiled. Jane probably wasn't a morning person, and since she asked for more rest, he obliged to letting her have it by scaling the desk and up to the radio. The volume was set pretty high, making the little bird's head ache with the loudness, so quickly, he found the snooze button and pressed it. And silence returned to the apartment once more.

"That takes care of that." Chance stated, smiling. He looked down and saw that Jane had gone back to sleep. She looked at ease and had a smile on her face. The young penguin grinned and leaned on the clock. "Sleeping like a…_wah_!"

Papers flew everywhere as Chance was dragged down with the radio…landing right on top the bed. And he didn't know how it happened, but once again, the radio blared to life; this time on full volume…on a rock and roll music station. This resulted in Jane bolting upright from her bed, stammering words of warning to an imaginary burglar. And apparently, the radio had fallen on her head.

"…Ouch…" she muttered, taking up the clock and shutting it off. She then went on to sitting still for a moment before gasping. "Chance!"

The little penguin looked up at his name, but was surprised when a blanket was thrown over him and the sounds of Jane's footsteps running out of the room as she called, "Little penguin? _Pengy_? Where'd you go, little guy?"

"…Over here." Chance called out, replying. He wrestled with the covers until he was finally free, and then hurried out of the room. He found Jane crawling under the coffee table.

"Chance? Little guy?"

"Over here." The little penguin said again, going over to tap Jane's ankle. The touch got her attention immediately and she turned to look at him.

"There you are! Were you playing hide-and-seek with me, little guy?"

Chance shook his head and pointed into the room they had both just left. She looked from the door and back to her little companion. "Were…were you watching me sleep?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "…Because—no offence...but that's _creepy_. Even for a cute little penguin like you."

An awkward silence befell them yet again, as Chance, embarrassed at Jane's conclusion had no way of correcting her…while Jane had nothing else to say. Seeing that questioning look on his face made her to believe that the little guy didn't understand her at all. "…_Anyways_, would you like some breakfast now that we're both awake?" Jane smiled, and Chance, although still wanting to prove his innocence, slowly decided that what was done was done and hurriedly agreed to breakfast. He was feeling a little hungry now anyways. "Great, come on then." Gently, Jane picked up her little friend, perching him onto her shoulder. She then went on towards the kitchen opening the top of the fridge in order to grab the plate of frozen fish. It didn't take long to fry the small meal, seeing since Jane focused on making her own breakfast too. Soon enough, they were both chowing down breakfast, and it would have been a peaceful morning meal if it weren't for Jane constantly leaving into her room to change.

"Almost time to go, little guy," she was saying to Chance. Now that breakfast was over, she was pacing herself to clean the table. "It's already ten to eight, so let's head on off, shall we?"

Chance, standing on the counters tilted his head. "But where are we going?" he asked, and Jane smiled again at his questionable look. She stopped what she was doing and brought her eyes level with Chance's. They were a bright blue. Just like his.

"Today, we're going to the Central Park Zoo." She explained, "Remember what I told you last night?"

Trying hard to remember, Chance soon recalled Jane telling him about a new home for him…but he figured she'd be keeping him here as his new home…not send him off to someplace else. He could feel his heart sink as he slowly nodded his head to tell Jane he remembered. And she didn't seem to get how he felt as she quickly plucked him off the counter and into her arms. "Great! I promise you that you'll love it at Central Park." She vowed to Chance. The penguin could only grin.

"I…I can't wait…"

* * *

It was close to nine o'clock now, and Skipper and his team were still busy "_preparing for the worst_." Just because that tiger back at the Clause Zoo told dumb jokes didn't mean the penguins would let their guards down; especially Skipper because of his dislike for the unknown. Or surprises, for that fact.

"Private, keep a good lookout. Give us a warning when you see Alice's sister show up anywhere on the zoo's grounds. Kowalski, I want you on standby for options. As soon as we know what our little surprise I want you to be right on top of it with whatever you can throw at it." Both Kowalski and Private gave a brief nod before heading off to do their tasks. Skipper then turned to Rico, who stood eagerly awaiting orders. "Rico, my crazy friend, I want you to do a check up on all of our available weapons. And…just wondering, can you wrestle a tiger?"

"Yup!"

Skipper grinned and patted Rico on the back. He didn't even have to ask. "Good man." He praised, then openly stated, "Alright men, keep your eyes peeled and ready for action. Trouble can happen at any given time, especially with Alice's mysterious little sister. If she tries to give us anything funny, we'll be onto her like cat on a mouse."

"Too late, Skippa'," Private suddenly butted in, pointing at the zoo's main entrance. Alice was already standing at it, opening the gate to a very perky looking Jane. "She's already here."

The other three penguins gasped, quickly going into commando mode. "Rico, quick! The weapons check! Kowalski, analysis on what that woman is holding! Move men, move!"

Rico's stomach clicked and whirred with different kind of sounds. Meanwhile, dodging out of sight, Kowalski took out a pair of binoculars, scanning different parts of the zoo until he found Jane in his sights. She seemed to be holding something quite close to her. And it had a blue bow on it.

"I can't really see what she's holding…some sort of black package. And it's got a pretty blue bow on it."

"Blue bow…?" Skipper questioned suspiciously. "Diabolical!"

"And she's heading our way with it!" Private added, a bit nervous now. _What if there really was something Jane had that would eat them?_

Skipper slapped him across the face. "Keep calm, Private. We've been preparing for this all morning." He frowned as Alice led her little sister right for them. "So here comes the first plan of our multi-staged attack scenarios: Smile and wave, boys! But don't entirely let down your guard."

* * *

Jane was feeling a little strange now. The little guy seemed depressed again, and she had no idea why. They had even stopped by a clothing store for a second to pick out a nice looking ribbon.

"You'll want to look nice when you meet new friends," she had told the little bird, but he didn't respond to that either until they finally arrived to the Central Park Zoo. Alice was already waiting for them at the front gate. And since today was a free day, the zoo was closed to the public; this earned Alice enough free time to help her friend.

"Wow. He really is a little cutie." She told Jane, smiling at the sight of the little penguin. Chance looked up at her from Jane's arms, a little scared.

"Isn't he? For some odd reason, he keeps perching himself on my shoulder…" the younger woman replied, chuckling. "And look at this bow I gave him!"

_It looks a little weird._ Alice thought inwardly as she looked at the bow tied around the bird's neck. But in the outside, she smiled and petted Chance on the head. "Well, won't the others be surprised when they see him?" She paused. "It is a _'him'_…right?"

Jane laughed. "Of course, silly Alice." She cuddled Chance, who smiled, but faintly. "He'll make fast friends with your penguins. You'll see." And with that, the two of them entered the zoo, walking on towards the penguin habitat. And during the short walk, Chance took the time to look around, convinced that it was a pretty big zoo.

"Aw, look at them, they're so cute." He suddenly heard Jane say. He saw her looking straight ahead now, and turned as well to see four other penguins smiling and waving at them.

_Way to greet the crowd, guys._ Chance thought staring at them. They must have noticed him too because now all four were looking right at him. Him and his pretty blue bow…

* * *

Alice took a moment to place down the plank, connecting it to the island. "Go on and set him down with them, Jane." She told her friend, but Jane was already on the island, crouching low so she could take a good look at each of the four Central Park penguins. Her arms were covered around Chance, hiding him.

"Hey guys, are you ready for your surprise?" she asked them, smiling brightly. All four looked at each other, not saying anything despite them being alarmed by her.

And that was when Jane quickly uncovered Chance from her arms, bringing him out gently and placing him in front of Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private. They gasped in surprise, seeing another penguin. But this penguin had a strange blue bow around his neck, looking embarrassed about it himself. Jane looked happily between the meeting and gently nudged Chance forward. "Go on, little guy. Say hello to your new friends!"

She pushed her little penguin forwards some more until he was eye to eye with Private, who stared back at him curiously. He was just a little taller than this blue bowed bird. Chance's face felt hot as he looked from one penguin to the other. There was an almost too tense silence between all of them. Awkwardly, Chance cleared his throat. "Um, hello…new…friends…" he said, attempting to smile. Private returned the smile, apparently being the friendliest of the group.

"Hi, there." He replied, putting out a flipper as if to shake hands. And knowing that Jane was still watching them, Chance shook it. "Nice…er, ribbon by the way…"

"…Thanks."

"Well, looks like you two have made quick friends!" Jane petted Chance on the head, then Private before she stood up. "Now, Chance, I want you to be a good penguin here. I like you a lot, so I'll be sure to come and visit you every once and a while, okay?"

Chance turned immediately to her. So did the other penguins. "You're…leaving me?" he asked, hurt. Jane, again, didn't see his sad reaction. She smiled back down at him, knelt back down to cuddle him one last time before going to walk across the board plank. She met Alice at the end, and together they removed the plank. "Be good! You hear me?" she called at the fences, then turning to Alice, talking excitedly about visiting hours.

* * *

It wasn't hard to feel the eyes on him now as Chance slowly turned to face the four penguins he had just met. And for several minutes none of them said anything.

"So…what's your name?" Private asked, tapping the tips of his flippers together. Chance shrugged before dropping his head.

"Chance." He spoke bluntly, moving the bow of the large ribbon out of his face. "What are your names?"

"Oh, well, my name's Private." Private replied, glad to see that they had started a conversation. "And this is Rico, Kowalski…" Rico waved at his name, while Kowalski looked like he was still trying to understand the blue bow around this new penguin's neck. "And this is Skippa'."

"Private!" Skipper exclaimed suddenly, clearing the distance between him and Chance. He pointed at the young bird. "Don't give our names away to unknown surprises!"

"But Skippa'-" Private began, but the leader's attention was already to Chance, looking him straight in the eye.

"Kowalski, analysis on this penguin!"

The order came. And Kowalski moved forward, with a flipper to his chin. He looked Chance intensively up and down. "He could theoretically be a tiger in a penguin suit…" he began, but as he poked Chance in the stomach, peeked inside his mouth, turned him upside down and finally finished with a slap to the back of his head, the tall penguin turned back to Skipper. "But I can assure you that this _surprise_ is actually a real penguin. No tiger in disguise nor does he seem to have any robotic parts inside him. And to be more specific, he is the same breed as us."

"Are you sure?" Skipper asked, still unconvinced. Chance looked a little angry now after what Kowalski had just done to him. "The bow still bothers me…"

"Then I'll take it off!" the small penguin retorted, grabbing one end of the bow and pulling it roughly. In seconds it untied and fell unceremoniously to the ground. "And what is wrong with you guys? Do you always do this to people you just meet?"

"I apologize…er, Chance." Private cut in, picking up the ribbon. "You see, Alice's sister, Jane, had promised us a surprise. And since we didn't know what it was, we prepared for the worst. We even went on a mission and followed her to another zoo. And once there, we met this tiger who told us that Jane was going to bring something to eat us, and that's why Kowalski and the others are a little suspicious of you…"

Chance raised his brow, looking as if he understood the story somewhat. It encouraged Private to continue, looking sheepish. "I thought she was going to bring a badger here…but believe me, it's more surprising to know that she's brought along another penguin instead. It really _is_ nice to meet you, Chance."

Private cleared his throat and turned to his friends. They looked back having no idea what to say until Private finally gave them "_the look_."

"Ooh, right…" Skipper grinned, going over to put an arm around Chance's shoulders. "I apologize if we've made any harsh misunderstandings of you, kid."

"Sorry." Rico chided in, waving.

"Yes. I'm…sorry...as well." Kowalski spoke up, approaching with his flippers behind his back. But he suddenly pulled out a large strange object that scanned Chance's entire body with a blue light up and down, once or twice before the scientist quickly threw it aside. Then he once again looked apologetic. "Sorry."

Chance gave Private a _"what just happened?" _look before attempting to smile back at the four. They didn't seem so bad.

"So...you guys are sure I'm not a tiger in a penguin suit, now right?" he asked jokingly, then he lunged forward, waving his arms and making growling noises. All four of his new friends stepped back from him in sudden surprise, and he almost burst out laughing at them. Instead, he chuckled softly. "I'm just kidding…but I didn't know Jane had a sister…"

"...We had no idea Alice and Jane were sisters either, until Jane suddenly appeared out of nowhere yesterday." Kowalski replied, reviewing some of yesterday's notes. He produced the crude sketch of the young zookeeper. The same one he had shown to Kavo and Yatzee the night before. Chance looked at it and blinked, confused.

"…That doesn't look like Jane at all." He told Kowalski, who stood in silence as the younger penguin went on. "And I happen to know a tiger. And he always makes these mean jokes about things that can eat you too…"

"Kavo?" Rico provided, tilting his head. Chance nodded.

"That's him. So I'm guessing you guys went to Clause Zoo?"

"We sure did," Skipper replied, the events of last night fresh in his mind. "But…how do _you_ know about that place?"

"I've been living there for two weeks. And I was there last night too until I suddenly got sick." Chance explained, smiling. "Jane was actually the one who took me home and treated me."

"…Which explains the empty cage we saw," Private added in, bouncing on his heels. It was always fun to piece things together just by information and experience alone. "That was _your_ cage wasn't it?" Chance seemed to be enjoying the puzzle game too, glancing back at Private.

"Yeah. Sorry I never got to meet you guys last night. But it looks like I'll be staying with you guys now." Chace looked a little down, remembering Jane's happy, smiling eyes. "...Jane explained to me this morning that she found a new home for me."

"A new home, huh?" Skipper grinned, straightening his back. "Well then, welcome to the team!" He extended his flipper to Chance, who hesitantly took it.

"Uh…thanks." He replied. Skipper then turned to looks at his friends. "Alright, men! Looks like we have a new recruit _and_ a welcoming party on our hands!"

"Oh, you guys don't have too…" Chance began, feeling embarrassed. But Private interrupted him by smiling.

"Don't worry, Chance. I'll go and invite everyone in the zoo. They'll all love to meet you!" And with that said, and before Chance could stop him, Private turned and jumped into the pool, then jumping out on the opposite side and on top of the fence where he waved again before running off to the monkey's habitat.

"Come on, soldier, let's go show you around the HQ!" Skipper was suddenly at Chance side, a welcoming smile on his face. He led Chance towards the fish bowl, which Kowalski obligingly removed to reveal a small hatch and ladder leading down.

"What…what's down there?" Chance asked, staring unsuringly at the whole.

"It's our headquarters." Kowalski explained while Skipper had already jumped through the hatch. "It's positively safe and has a good underwater view of our swimming pool."

"…Headquarters?" the younger penguin asked again, apparently not getting what was waiting for him. A small tap on his shoulder made him turn around, and Chance saw Rico's face right up into his. And they stared at each other for a second before Rico finally took Chance's flippers and held them up. It was as if Chance was going to hold something.

"What's he doing?" Chance tilted his head, whispering to Kowalski. The tall penguin didn't reply until without warning, Rico suddenly regurgitated a fresh poached salmon into Chance's waiting arms.

The young penguin squealed, grossed out while Kowalski smiled. "Obviously, Rico wants to offer you some fish as a welcoming present. And its poached salmon flavored." Peeking at the gift, Chance finally smiled too, looking from Kowalski, to Rico and back to the fish in his wings. "Thanks, guys."

"Welcome to the team." Kowalski replied, while Rico nodded.

_I guess it won't be so bad staying here…_ Chance thought, a warm feeling overcoming him as he looked at his new friends. _Maybe Jane was right. I'll probably find happiness here after all…_

But then he turned too late, miss-stepped and fell screaming down the hatch.

_

* * *

_

_And so Chance's life in the Central Park Zoo begins. What will the days ahead have in store? _

Find out next chapter. ;3 It looks like the whole gang is coming into play now! And if you want to read more, just Review or Favorite if you liked the chapters so far and I'll be sure to write chapter 6 as fast as I can! Lol. :]


	6. Meet, Greet, Memories

Disclaimer:

I don't own Penguins of Madagascar. They belong to Tom McGrath. But additional characters like OC's belong to me. ^^

**Please READ & REVIEW**

**Taking Chances**

Chance is a young penguin with a horrible past. Will him being sent to the Central Park Zoo fix up the pieces of his life? Or make it even worse?

* * *

Chapter 6 – Meet, Greet, Memories

Luckily, Skipper was there to catch him as he came screaming down the hatch. Chance opened his eyes, not seeing the floor. In fact, it felt like he was floating in the air…until he met Skipper's gaze. The older penguin was looking at him with one side of his brow raised.

"You okay?" He asked, clearly concerned. _Was that also doubt in his eyes?_

Chance hugged the poached salmon closer to him, his heart still pounding. And when he was unable to speak, he slowly nodded and Skipper set him down. "You need to watch your step, amigo. I know you're not used to the place yet, but you will be soon enough after a few days of training…"

"S…Sure…" Chance mumbled, still shaky from the fall. Then his eyes widened as he began to look around. The room was fairly huge, made of concrete with pipes passing through the walls. Near the iron bar ladder leading up to hatch, there were four indents in the wall that looked like bunks; complete with pillows and blankets. Also, in the middle of the room, there was a makeshift table, along with an old looking TV on the far side with high definitional stereos connected to it. A fish plaque was also up on the wall, behind where Skipper was standing. The sentence below it read: _Private's 1st Prize._

Of course, there were other strange gadgets lying around too. Chance stared at them for a second before taking a mental precaution to never touch them. At all.

And to finally sum up the entire place, it looked like a comfortable living quarter, but with cool underwater windows. "I…I like what you guys have done with the place…" Chance found his voice after a few minutes of looking around. Skipper came up beside him, smiling.

"Why thank you."

The older penguin suddenly raised an eyebrow, looking over the walls. He seemed to be wondering something. "…Well, since you're going to be staying with us now, we'll need to make you a bunk too."

"Oh. That's okay-"

"Rico! Kowalski! Come on down here for a second so we can measure this soldier for a bed." Skipper nodded to Chance, who could only smile in thanks.

The two other penguins quickly came down the hatch, landing more gracefully than Chance's fall. The taller penguin looked Chance up and down once more, held up a flipper, and Rico helpfully vomited out a measuring tape into it. And thus began the measuring as Kowalski wrote several notes down on a notepad. He checked Chance's height size, wing size and head size until finally, he went over to the wall several inches to the right from their own beds. Then drew several lines with a marker and turned to Rico, nodding. That meant it was Rico's turn now and the psychotic penguin stepped forward, chuckling evilly at the wall.

"You might want to keep your distance during this." Skipper warned lightly to Chance, pulling the younger bird back. And Chance didn't know how he did it…but Rico suddenly threw up a mini jackhammer, holding it readily before attacking the wall. Rocks and debris flew everywhere while Rico was caught up in a cloud of smoke and maniacal laughter. The jackhammer shook the entire room like an earthquake, but it soon stopped and the dust cleared, revealing a very successful Rico. He leaned against the jackhammer, a coy grin on his face. And in the wall was a new bunk, dirt free.

Chance clapped his hands, impressed, while the Kowalski and Skipper merely admired the work. "Good work, boys! As usual." Skipper commented. Rico chuckled while Kowalski led their new recruit forward.

"So here is where you'll be sleeping, Chance. It could take a while for you to adjust, but it provides one hundred percent comfort. Now all we need is a pillow…" Rico made a face before throwing up the suggested item. "And a blanket."

Again, Rico regurgitated the said item, placing them in into Chance's new bed. "You guys keep surprising me." Chance commented to the three, smiling. They smiled back at him.

"No soldier of mine will sleep outside. Or in a cardboard box, despite how comfortable that may sound…" Skipper replied, and then looked at the floor. It was still covered in rocks and dust. "Now, we should probably get rid of this mess before Private comes back with the rest of our party gang. Chance, eat that fish and let's get to cleaning."

"Okay."

"Party! Woo-hoo!" Rico shot balloons from his gut, placing them wherever he could around the base. Skipper took up a sweeper, brushing all the dirt and grime into the dustpan Chance obligingly held.

Kowalski looked over to Rico, grinning. "Rico, you do know that we'll be holding the party outside, right?" The psychotic penguin seemed to be thinking about it for a moment, before he just shrugged and continued his decorating. Just then there were knocking sounds from above and the fish bowl moved aside to let Private in, he seemed pleased with himself. "Everyone's outside for the good old meet and greet!" he announced. "Are you ready to say hello to everyone, Chance?"

The younger penguin made a nervous face. "Do I have to write a speech or something?"

"No, silly. Just start with saying 'hello.' Besides, having a party is also a great way to get to know everyone." Private came over to pull Chance towards the ladder again. At least this time he wouldn't be doing any falling.

* * *

Everyone who knew the penguins were gathered outside the habitat, waiting. Marlene was already standing near the hatch with a festive hat in her hands. For her, it was always fun to greet new arrivals to the zoo. Especially since the poor thing would be living with Skipper and the other penguins now. Skipper, Rico and Kowalski were the first three to come outside. Marlene approached them wearing an excited smile. "So? Where's the new arrival?" she asked. Skipper crossed his flippers behind his back, making his appearance more authoritive but relaxed.

"…Marlene, meet Chance. Alice's younger sister brought him in earlier." He glanced over to the hole leading into their base. No one seemed to be coming out of it though. After a moment, Skipper spoke again. "Don't be shy, soldier. Come out here already."

From inside the base, Private's voice was heard. "Go on, Chance. Let's not keep the others waiting."

Seconds passed, but finally Chance's head emerged from the hatch, his teal eyes looking around. He was feeling a little shy now, but what scared him the most was when Marlene rushed right at him.

"Hi! I'm Marlene!" she pulled him bodily out of the HQ, holding him up in the air. And from there she looked at him, slightly surprised. "Wow, you're the smallest penguin I've ever seen..." And she was right too despite the fact that she just met him. Compared to Private, he was a little smaller in size and extremely light. The only thing that stuck out about him were probably his light, teal blue eyes. Marlene stared at him again before hugging him tightly. "…But you're so cute!"

"Ugh!" Chance's breath left him in a woosh, making it apparent that Marlene had no idea how strong she really was. "It's…nice to…meet you too…" Marlene put him down, tying a festive hat on around his head.

"Welcome to the Central Park Zoo! I just know you're going to love it here…" Marlene waited for a name, having forgotten it. "His name's Chance, Marlene." Private provided for her, and she nodded appreciatively. "Right! You're going to love it here, Chance." She stopped for a second thinking, then looking at the others, she said. "That's weird…I didn't know Alice had a sister. But it was great of her to bring you, right, Chance?"

Having to catch his breath, Chance could only smile and nod. She seemed nice, even as she introduced him to everyone else in the zoo. They were all very friendly, especially the alligator named Roger who offered him some cookies. The only two animals he didn't really feel comfortable with was Joey the Kangaroo and King Julian, the self-proclaimed lemur king of the zoo. The ring-tailed lemur demanded gifts from Chance. Luckily, Skipper and the others defended him from the stingy king.

"Why don't you play some music already, Ringtail?" Skipper said, going over to the boom box Mort and Maurice had brought over for the party. Julian crossed his arms, posing regally.

"I am da' king!" he remarked. "I don't take orders from silly, flightless birds." But he seemed to agree with the idea, since he turned to his advisor. "Maurice! Crank up de' tunes! It's time to bring down da' house!"

The dark furred lemur grinned, turning on the radio. It boomed to some heavy groovy music from the 80's. The kind of music only King Julian would love. He seemed pleased as he began dancing around quite impressively, before going over to Chance.

"Come, new silly penguin! Let's see how you shake your booty!" And before Chance could decline, Julian grabbed him and started dancing around again. The young penguin danced clumsily compared to Julian, who laughed at him and went on to teaching him some moves. On the sidelines, Skipper and Kowalski were watching him intently.

"What do you think, Skipper?" Kowalski was saying, eyes tracking their new recruit. He was also holding a mango smoothie, poured into a cup with a green silly straw.

"A little uncoordinated," the leader answered, also watching Chance. Just by how he fell earlier, Skipper could tell that Chance had no fighting skills whatsoever. "…But we'll have that fixed in a couple of days. How long do you think it'll take to bring him up to our level?"

"It could take months," The scientist's reply was quick and simple. The boy seemed a lot like their own young Private, only a lot younger and probably more innocent. "In a 'couple of days,' he'll be a good enough fighter. Calculated, in a few weeks, he could have just enough experience to be fairly dependable on missions…other than that, it could take months, maybe a few years of practice and time until he catches up with us."

"I see." Skipper watched as Julian got Chance to laugh, his strange colored eyes happy and glowing. All the other animals had joined in on the dance now, and they were all having a great time. The sight of everyone having fun almost made Skipper smile. "Well…that works for me. Besides, we can't rush skills, courage and adventure…"

"Unless I create another time machine," Kowalski pointed out. He smiled at Skipper who gave him a look that said, _don't you dare start another Chronotron incident._ The look almost made the scientist laugh, but he kept an innocent face on and sighed. "I was just joking."

Despite the fact that Kowalski's inventions always threatened to destroy the world, Skipper had always respected the taller penguin's knowledge and smartness. And he was always dependable when the situation came down to making decisions. He was also a great friend; and seeing that innocent look made Skipper want to smile back. "Okay. I understand the joke." Skipper let his smile appear and he nodded towards the dancing crowd. "Now get out there and party. I'll stay for a while longer before I head back to headquarters to plan tomorrow's training." The leader hesitated for a second before adding in, "Be sure to tell Rico and Private that it's lights out at 0900. Tell that to Chance too."

Kowalski looked at the zoo's front gate where there was also a huge clock tower. The time read 2:48, leaving plenty of time to party. The scientist turned to Skipper, one side of his brow raised inquiringly. But he understood perfectly what Skipper had in mind. No one like him would wait for training plans to plan themselves.

"…In that case, I suggest we ask Maurice to make more smoothies." The scientist shook the empty cup in his flippers, and then nodded to the sidelines of the dance floor, where a small table was set up with cups and a fruit blender on standby by the dark furred lemur himself. "Fruit smoothies are helpful when it comes to creative thinking."

Skipper nodded. "Sounds good."

* * *

The day went on with a barbeque and games until the clock finally rang for 8 o'clock. The moon had risen, and at last it was night time. It was also time for everyone to go back to their habitats for a good night's rest, since tomorrow they would be open to the public again. Burt the elephant was the last say his goodbyes before stomping off. "Bye guys! Great party! And it was great to meet you too, Chance." And with that said, the large mammal was gone, leaving only the Marlene and the penguins now. At the lemur habitat, Julian was still 'shaking his booty.'

"Everyone in the zoo is so nice." Chance told his friends, smiling. Then he looked around, suddenly aware that Skipper was missing. Luckily, Kowalski already knew where their leader had gone and answered the question before it was even asked. "Skipper turned in earlier so he could plan tomorrow's…activities." The scientist knew Chance probably wouldn't understand their _training_ motives, at least not at the moment. "But his orders were too all turn it at nine o'clock, so we should get going."

From the side, Marlene yawned and rubbed her eyes. All the partying had worn her out and it looked like she was ready for bed as well. "Okay. So I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow..." She went on to saying good bye to Kowalski, Private and Rico first before turning to Chance. "Good night. You sleep well, okay?" Chuckling, Chance nodded. She sounded like a mother to him and made him think about Jane.

"Yes, mom." He replied jokingly. Marlene seemed somewhat happy by the title of mom, seeing as she smiled warmly at it. She ruffled the feathers on the young bird's head. "You're cute. But, just call me Marlene?" Then after wishing the other three penguins sweet dreams again, she left. Kowalski led the others back to their home, with Chance and Private happily talking about the funniest things that happened during the party. Apparently, it was extremely funny in some parts that involved Julian getting on Joey's nerves and getting kicked into the smoothie stand. He was alright, but seeing all those fruit smoothies on his fur made the lemur king look like a rainbow jubilee. "I've never seen so many colors on an animal in my life." Chance laughed, but then thought about it. He could only remember a rainbow unicorn his little sister would always watch on the television. And then it hit him.

_Oh…_

Chance's mind drifted off, back to the memories of his past. He thought about Karen again, the accident. He couldn't forget it after all, not even when he was starting to like his new life here in the Central Park Zoo.

"You think that's colorful, I should tell you what happened to us a while back…" Private's voice seemed distant as Chance's mind whirled with his older memories. The fun drained itself out of him, and the young bird was now left with a deep anxiety and sadness in his heart once more. Private was laughing now, wiping a tear from his eye. Rico had join in on the laughs, and Kowalski also seemed to have cracked a smile at the memory.

"By the time we left the print shop, each of us looked quite colorful, I can tell you." Private finished the story, looking over to Chance to see his reaction. But the other penguin had stopped walking, his eyes staring at the ground with sadness. "Chance…are you feeling alright?"

His eyes seemed distant, but at his name, the younger penguin looked up, surprised, then attempted to laugh. It was a forced, empty laugh. "Haha…that sounds like a funny story…" he covered up his feelings, and grinned, sheepish. And yet, years of training helped the other penguins know whether someone was lying or not. If Skipper were here, he'd probably call for a Bologna reading.

"Is there something bothering you?" Kowalski seemed concerned now too as he, Rico and Private laid eyes on Chance. But he just shook his head and attempted a wider smile. "I'm fine." He assured them, but at their questionable looks, he sighed. "I was just…thinking…about my sister."

"Aw, you miss her?" Rico's voice still sounded like grunts. But Chance was starting to understand him. He just hesitated to tell the others about his past, since he didn't want to burden his new friends with it. Instead, Chance only smiled. He decided not to tell them that Karen was already dead…

"Yeah. I…I miss her, a lot." He replied, before yawning suddenly. The tiredness was starting to get to him. And they had already arrived at the penguin's habitat. Skipper was already waiting outside for them, smiling. "Welcome back, boys." He nodded to his men, then looked at Chance. "We'll be doing some training exercises in the morning. We'd best get to bed now so we can wake up early tomorrow for morning workout. Before the zoo opens, of course." The others leapt in through the hatch after Skipper, leaving Chance as the last to climb down. He'd have to practice all those fancy flips his friends had done.

"Good night, Chance. Best you get some rest. It's going to be a long day tomorrow." Private grinned to the younger penguin before jumping into his bunk. Chance smiled back, feeling a little better while he made his way to his own bunk. It looked inviting to the tired penguin.

"Alright. Sweet dreams, men." Skipper called the order and the lights went out. The windows however, lit the room like a nightlight, dim and comforting. Chance climbed into bed, hearing the others move around until they each drifted off to sleep on their own. But it took a while for Chance to sleep despite how tired he felt, or how comfortable his bunk was. For a while, he lay on his side, staring around the room.

Many thoughts were relaying themselves through his mind, especially his thoughts about his family. He thought about his parents…and he thought about Karen. The twinge of pain wasn't so painful anymore as Chance closed his eyes. He could feel himself drifting off to sleep now, and soon the world was gone…

* * *

_What kind of training does Skipper and the team have in mind for Chance? Exactly what happened to Chance's human sister?_

Find out next chapter. :3 Please read & review when you can. I'll update soon...


	7. Swimming Day

Disclaimer:

I don't own Penguins of Madagascar. They belong to Tom McGrath. But additional characters like OC's belong to me. ^^

**Please READ & REVIEW**

**Taking Chances**

Chance is a young penguin with a horrible past. Will him being sent to the Central Park Zoo fix up the pieces of his life? Or make it even worse?

* * *

Chapter 7 – Swimming Day

He was dreaming. He had to be. Chance couldn't move at all, but he felt incredibly warm and protected; a feeling only a baby chick would have while they were still in their eggs.

From inside his un-hatched shell, Chance could hear voices of many people. In fact, it sounded like an entire colony, talking with each other in cheer and happiness. They all sounded happy, with a pleasant atmosphere swirling in circles in the air. And yet, the happiest voice Chance heard among everyone else's was the one closest to him. It was melodious and loving. Beautiful and…familiar.

'_Mother…'_ Chance thought automatically, now hating the fact that he wasn't able to see her. He couldn't touch her. He couldn't talk to her. He never did meet her**. **'_My real mother…'_

"I'm so glad that we've been blessed with two beautiful eggs." She was saying. "I hope I can see them grow up into beautiful penguins…"

Chance held his breath. He had a sibling too? But it sounded like his mother was sad, probably because she must have lost several of their kids some years before. It must have been hard for his mother to never be able to see her kids grow up. Just then, from the side a male's voice, gruff and strong, coughed awkwardly.

"There, there, Julia..." His tone was gentle and somewhat encouraging. This was the voice of Chance's_ real father._ "I know we've faced many hardships in the past, but I promise that I will protect our eggs this time. No bird or human will ever touch our children. _Never again_."

There was a long pause while Chance shifted in his sleep. He didn't want to wake up yet. He wanted to see his parents, pushing against the walls of his bunk, because in his dream, he was trying to break out of his shell. He wanted badly to glimpse the faces of his parents. But what happened next made the young penguin regret his decision as the dream continued with a different kind of atmosphere. An atmosphere full of fear and panic…

"Poachers!" someone was yelling in a frantic voice. Screams erupted from all around, followed by the sounds of running feet. Sudden gunshots split the air, sending the panicking birds into an even worse frenzy of fear. "RUN FOR IT!"

Chance felt a wave of dread and confusion in his gut. Poachers were humans who would capture animals, taking them far away from their homes to be sold off to zoos and other places. And given how panicked these penguins sounded, the poachers probably stole baby chicks from their colony on a regular basis.

"Hurry! Take your kids and go!" Chance suddenly heard his father's voice, screaming above the chaos. He sounded like a brave man as he continued screaming for everyone to take their eggs and run. After so many years of losing his kids to poachers, this was finally the last straw for him. But then, out of the blue, more gunshots were heard. One particularly so close, that the sound of it scared Chance senseless.

"Aaah!" Julia was screaming now. She sounded like she was hurt, and in a lot of pain. _She was shot._ "Richard!" she cried out weakly but desperately, and her mate hastened to her. "Take the eggs. Keep…keep them safe…"

"JULIA! No! Please, no!" Another gunshot sounded, even closer now. There were even footsteps heading their way, and through his eggshell, Chance could hear his father growling.

"Hello, birdy." chuckled a dark, heavily accented voice. The sound of a gun being locked was heard, along with Richard gasping. "Don't worry, we'll take good care of your kids."

"NO!" Richard screamed, but then another gunshot was heard. And Chance could feel himself falling. Falling into the blackness of the dream…

* * *

The falling sensation ended quickly, as Chance's eyes snapped open and he jolted upright in his bed. He was breathing hard, even feeling weak as he looked around the entire room and at first not recognizing it. It took him a while to remember where he was, but when he finally did remember, Chance broke down into tears. He did his best to keep quiet though, since he did not want to wake up Skipper and the others.

Their soft snoring was enough to tell Chance that they were oblivious to his nightmare-filled distress.

The horrible feelings from his dreams were already chasing him back into reality, hitting him like a fish-slap to the face. At least he remembered how he had lost his real parents now. They were killed by poachers.

_But...why start dreaming of them now? _

Chance had expected to dream about Karen again, along with his adoptive parents since he had known them longer than his real parents. Sniffling away the tears, the young penguin looked around, wanting to know what time it was.

The alarm clock next to Skipper's bunk read 4:23 am; that was way too early in the morning. And it was way too late to go back to sleep now, since the clock was set to go off at 6 am. Private wasn't joking when he said that Skipper liked to manage his time wisely. Thus, Chance was left with only one option now.

Slowly he climbed out of his bunk, sneaking past his friends and all the way to the ladder. Both Private and Kowalski were sleeping on the two top bunks, so it was hard to see them, but Rico was snoring unusually loud. And the way he was lying, sprawled out, made him look cramped and uncomfortable. Even Skipper, sleeping on his back kept muttering random words every few seconds.

"Monster trucks..." the leader mumbled happily, but suddenly frowned. "No. Not the rocket launcher...!" Chance stared at him for a second, wondering what Skipper was dreaming about, before he started climbing up the ladder. At the top, the hatch's lock was easy to open.

_'All I need is some fresh air,' _Chance thought to himself, gently pushing up against the bowl. _'Some time to think before the others wake up.'_

Slowly the hatch began to move, revealing the outside through the small space it made. Eager to get out now, Chance pushed the bowl further aside. And just as the faint glow of the outside was beginning to show through, the fish bowl scraped loudly against the concrete. And that sound alone was enough to awaken Skipper, who immediately leaped out of his bed.

"We've got an intruder!" he warned aloud, alerting his friends. Quickly, Kowalski and Private jumped down from their bunks, striking dangerous battle mode poses. Only Rico failed to notice anything, snoring loudly.

"Up there!" Kowalski called, pointing up. It was still a little dark and hard to see that it was Chance at the top of the ladder. He was obviously startled to see such a reaction from them, and in a flash, Kowalski jumped up, eyes set on his target.

"W-Wait-," Chance started, scared, but ended up taking a foot to the face. He lost his grip on the ladder, and fell to the ground. Hard. Skipper was already waiting for him, flashlight in hand and shining it right into his face. "Alright! Who are you and what are you doing in our…" The leader suddenly froze, his eyes looking into Chance's. "Chance? Chance, what were you doing up there?"

Still dizzy and feeling the pain of the fall, Chance stayed where he lay and answered from there, "Just...wanted...some fresh air..."

Private came over to help up his fallen friend. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Chance replied, shaking his head to get rid of the dizziness. "And thanks."

Private smiled at him, but looked concerned again as he looked into Chance's eyes. "Have you been crying, Chance? Your eyes look a little puffy."

The younger penguin looked away. Private had hit the spot. But he didn't want to tell the others about his nightmares, and he'd be ashamed to push his inner problems on his friends. Instead, he rubbed his cheek and looked sheepish. "I guess I'm just one of those people who cry after getting kicked in the face." He joked, looking over to Kowalski. The taller penguin looked apologetic. "Uh...Sorry about that," he apologized as Skipper checked the time. Then he looked back at Chance with his arms crossed over his chest.

"...Besides just wanting some fresh air, why else would you want to go outside at four in the morning?" the leader asked, one side of his brow raised.

Chance scratched the back of his head. Maybe he could be just a little truthful to his friends. "I had a...a bad dream." He admitted. "Every time I have one I just have to get outside. Sorry if I scared you guys...and I'm probably never going to do that again after today."

Skipper's face softened, seeming to take the young penguin's words. "Don't sweat it, soldier. Besides, we were planning to teach you a few combat drills today." He told Chance, grinning. "So I guess it's a good thing you woke us up earlier than our usual time."

From his bunk, Rico continued to snore. "Well...most of us." Skipper added in. He nodded to Kowalski, who quickly went over to slap the sleeping penguin awake.

"Aah! What? What?" Startled from his sleep, Rico glared around for whoever woke him up. Then he looked down, surprised to see everyone else awake and Skipper giving him a stern look.

"Rico, you were sleeping during a possible headquarter breach. What do you have to say for yourself, soldier?"

"Uh...I was?" The weapon specialist grunted, confused.

"Yes. But then it was just Chance, and it's all over now." Private explained, hoping to at least keep Rico up to date. "We're also going to start training early today."

"Oh. Okay." Rico jumped down from his bunk, his eyes bright. He even started shadow boxing, earning an admiring look from Chance.

"Alright men, all awake?" Skipper called, already at the top of the ladder leading outside. The four penguins below him nodded almost simultaneously. "Good. Now, let's go start the day."

* * *

"What do you mean you can't swim?" Skipper, Kowalski, Private and Rico all stared at a very ashamed Chance. Morning workout wasn't so bad, but now it came for them to do swimming drills, and their newest member had just admitted that he couldn't swim. "You're a _penguin_, aren't you? It's natural instinct for us to swim."

Chance kept his head bowed, cheeks red. "Even if I do try to swim, Skipper, I just sink most of the time." The young penguin replied, eyeing the water nervously.

"Maybe you just weren't taught how to swim the right way." Private replied, going over to Chance, and smiling his friendly smile. With his teal eyes looking sad, Chance only shrugged. He wasn't taught how to swim at all, since Karen would always put him in the bathtub, with the water level up to his waist. Those kinds of water levels were easy to walk around in, but whenever she added too much water, Chance would automatically panic and try to get out of the tub. At least his sister would apologize whenever she did that.

Thinking back at that memory of all his close-call drownings, Chance looked even more depressed. But Private, sensing this, hurried to fix it. "And look, since me and the others already know how to swim, we'll teach you."

"And all you have to do is jump in." Kowalski added in. Hopefully coaxing him would at least help him get over the fear of deep water. From afar, their leader watched them with flippers tucked behind his back.

'_I guess he'll need a lot more training than I expected,'_ Skipper thought as Chance slowly ebbed his way to the pool's edge. He watched as Private and Kowalski babied the kid, until Rico finally got impatient and tackled him in.

"Rico! No!" Private yelped, staring horrified at the bubbling surface. Seconds later, Rico surfaced with a shaking Chance in his arms and threw up a life-ring, placing the smaller penguin into it. As soon as he let go, the younger bird gripped the life-ring as if his life depended on it.

"There you go." The crazed penguin swam circles around the terrified Chance while Private swam over. Kowalski turned away, possibly to hide his fit of giggles.

"Well...uh," Private searched for what he wanted to say next. "I guess...we'll start with paddling?"

Chance blinked at him, eyes wide but slightly amazed about still being afloat. "S...Sure."

Skipper grinned. Rico always did have strange teaching methods. But for training this kid to be a man, that was probably a good thing. "Alright men, let's start our swimming drills. The zoo opens in four hours, so let's hustle to get this baby penguin some real swimming techniques." He ordered at last, going to stand at the water's edge. "Chance, you can use the life-ring for now. But I'm hoping that once the zoo closes, you'll at least know how to float."

"Yes sir, Skipper, sir." Chance replied, seeming a little downhearted. But there was a strange determined glint in his eyes that made Skipper believe that the kid could accomplish his order.

* * *

"Hey, guys~!"

Jane's steps were light and cheerful as she closed the door behind her. She was back at Clause Zoo, in the main room where Kavo and Yatzee were still staying in. Neither of the two large mammals seemed to be excited to see her, looking at her as if she were a poacher.

The young woman failed to notice this though as she pulled up a chair in front of their separated cages. "I have some good news to tell you two." Her eyes looked from Yatzee to Kavo, who growled under his throat.

"She killed him. I bet she did." He growled, fur slightly bristling.

Yatzee looked over to him, a little less provoked. "Calm down, you old cat. She doesn't look like the type to kill cute, innocent animals."

"I found Chance a new home."

Jane's words really were surprise. Both mammals looked at her, with Jane's face looking gentle and kind. "I knew he's been sad ever since he came here, and maybe it was because he was homesick. But his real owners refused to take him back after I called, so I went and asked a friend of mine's to take him in to another zoo."

"...Which explains why we haven't seen him for three days straight." Kavo grumbled, settling himself. Maybe this young woman wasn't such a bad person after all. "But what zoo did she take him to?"

Jane smiled, thinking back at the Central Park Zoo. She hoped her little buddy was getting along with his new friends. She came back to reality though and smiled at Yatzee.

"Don't worry, I'm going to go visit him again in a few days. And I'll make sure to bring him here to see you two, since the three of you seem very close to each other."

The large orangutan made a face, as if she were smiling. Yatzee lifted her hand to her lips, bringing it down as if she were blowing a kiss. This made Jane laugh, returning the gesture. Kavo looked questioningly between the two, looking at his cell mate.

"What was that?" he asked, raising a brow.

"Sign language." Yatzee said simply as Jane got up to leave. "It means _'thank you.'_"

* * *

It wasn't long until the day was over again, and the zoo's visitors slowly left one by one. But at last, everything was closed and Alice left for the day. By that time, the penguins were all assembled around a large pile of fish left by the humans.

"So all we do is dance...and the people give us fish?" Chance asked, impressed. Although all he did was the smile and wave routine Private taught him ten minutes before opening time. It was amazing to see how well Skipper and the others were able to swim. They weren't even afraid to dive or throw each other into the air and Chance hoped that sooner or later, he'd be able to swim like them too.

"That about sums it up." Skipper replied, already on his fourth fish. Private on his second, Kowalski on his third and Rico on his tenth. Chance himself had about two already, almost feeling full. "How'd you like it?"

"It was...interesting," Chance shrugged, but his eyes brightened suddenly. "But it was really cool how you guys swam around and stuff. I really liked how fast you guys can swim and how high you guys can jump. It was awesome!"

Kowalski chuckled. "Well, it _does_ take a lot of practice to swim like that. As well as knowing plenty about Physics so to not actually hit anything underwater."

"...Really?" the younger penguin leaned over to ask Private, who couldn't answer because he didn't know either.

"Mostly it's just natural instinct." Skipper told the group, and then settled his eyes on Chance. "So...by us giving you the basics of swimming this morning, and you watching us during zoo time...do you think you can handle swimming now?"

All eyes were on Chance now, who in turn felt his heart skip a beat. But deep inside of him, the young penguin felt a sense of determination and a need to prove himself. So, Chance suddenly got up, going over to stand at the pool's edge. The others watched him in silence, surprised at the sudden show of courage.

Then, after a moment's hesitation Chance shut his eyes tight and jumped. He splashed into the water and sank several feet down before opening his eyes. He kicked his legs hard and flapped his arms up and down as fast as he could. The surface greeted him faster than he expected and he shot from the water in a burst, laughing as he did. But he probably didn't realize he was jumping for the island though and crash landed hard onto the concrete. Dropping their fish, Skipper and the others hurried over to him.

"Well done, soldier!" the leader congratulated while Chance saw stars.

"You did it!" Private cheered, helping his friend up. "You swam!"

"I did?" Chance asked, then smiled with his eyes bright. "I...I did! I did! I swam!"

Together, Private and Chance did a happy dance, along with Rico and Kowalski.

"Ah, but you've still got a lot to learn," Skipper made his voice louder over the singing. He sounded impressed though too. "Now that you've got swimming down, it's time to up the ante on your fighting skills."

The four dancing penguins stopped dancing and Chance looked at Skipper. "Fighting skills?" he repeated, but remembered how the others were able to do all those cool fighting moves earlier. He smiled, already eager to learn. "Awesome! When do we start?" He asked, but quickly added in, "Sir?"

He wanted to give Skipper and the others his respect, just to show that he trusted them.

"We'll start your training tomorrow. Today, I just want you to work more on your swimming. That's a vital part to being a penguin," Skipper replied, he looked quite proud of his group. "After today, you'll be known as Private Chance. You have my congratulations."

Eyes bright, the young penguin saluted. "Thank you, sir!" Then turned to celebrate again with the others. And the rest of the day went on with more swimming practices and sun basking. And thus ended another new day at the Central Park Zoo.

* * *

_The days are going on for the better now. Hopefully training won't be as tough as the mission ahead. _

I really wanted to make something tragic for Chance's past so that in the future, everything can just connect like a puzzle. x3 I also really love Rico, and made him do some pretty mean things. Kyahaha!

Private's also acting like a big brother. Awww. **3** Also, I don't start school again for another week, so if you want to read more, just Review or Favorite and I'll be sure to write Chapter 8 in a jiffy! ;)

Ciao!


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